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Monday, March 14, 2011

My First Official Training Schedule - Critique Away!!

Today I wrote a training schedule; my very first!

Up until today, I've been very week-by-week or "eh, what do I feel like today" with my training. I figured with a few LARGE events this year, I should put a bit more effort into scheduling things out. I'm posting it here to see what you guys think. I've never ran according to a set schedule, so I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you might have. THANKS!!

Given my upcoming races, I need to be prepared for around 18 miles of running by June 11th (the NERelay - post HERE and info HERE) and a half Ironman by July 10th (Providence 70.3 Ironman - info HERE). The 70.3 Ironman is my A priority race this year. The NERelay will probably be much more 'in the moment' fun since I'll have a team of 11 other people with me, but my essential goal there is to finish without ruining myself for Providence.

So... I sat down today and after looking through many various training schedules, typed up this schedule based strongly on Hal Higdon's Novice 1 marathon training schedule HERE.

Now, I will be the first to admit I am not a runner (Ok, I haven't been until now). Therefore, I've never had a set schedule and some of you may already be thinking "Well, your schedule says that enough on it's own." Haha, you're probably right. That's why I'm looking for your critical thoughts.

What do you think? Does that seem reasonable for a running schedule? (Can you ignore the fact that I'll be swimming and biking on a separate parallel schedule? That won't overwork me, right? haha). I know the issues of swim and cycle training on top of this are going to start to question the "rest" sections. Monday will be a full rest day. Friday will be an easy swim or bike day.

Questions

1. Do you exercise based on a long-term, a weekly, or a spur of the moment schedule?

2. Why do you work on the type of schedule you have? I always worked on spur of the moment & weekly schedules because my personal/work schedule changed all the time; I had to be flexible. This time around, I'm going to require the rest of my life work around my training schedule.

7 comments:

The schedule looks good running wise!! Keep me posted on how you are going to mix in the swimming/ biking. I like to work with a long term training schedule, but I feel like I need a protractor and multiple charts to figure out training for triathlons, and a marathon simultaneously.

Ok, I will give this some thought but for now : A) LOVE Hal! His Novice 1 plan took me to my first marathon and a PR of 4:09. I know I can do better but that will wait until Nov at OBX.B) what is your reasoning behind using a full marathon plan instead of a 1/2 marathon training plan in prep for 26.2? Is it the endurance? Or because of the 18 miles in your relay? The 18 miles will be split up and honestly you'll do FINE with all your multi-sport training (just my opinion). The 26.2 will take a lot of time and energy in and of it's self. I toyed with the thought of using a full marathon plan to train for 70.3 but wanted to focus on speed for the 13.1 part, which I found easier with a more advanced 13.1 plan (like Hal's Intermediate combined with Advanced half marathon plan-I mixed the two and picked and chose some speed and hill workouts to interchange).

C) I am in NO way an expert AT ALL! I am fumbling through my own home-made plan not far off from yours. I essentially did the same thing, (only using 13.1 not 26.2)used my 13.1 running plan then pretty much just layered my swim an bike on top. Rest days are HARD to come by...And I am constantly fatigued. I started with a good base too, of running anyways. I did a full marathon 12/5, so not too long ago.Can't wait to see what you come up with! I think this is HALF the fun, making my plan and putting it to the test!!! Then tweak it for next time, because there WILL be a next time! =)

I've never done a 70.3 before, so I can't really help you out there. I did, however, run Ragnar last year, and although my total mileage was less than what yours will be (13.2 compared to 18), I found that capping my long runs at my longest leg distance (with some good hills thrown in because I needed it) and running multiple days in a row helped me train for the relay. You've got that covered in your plan, but I would shave a couple miles off your longest run.

Who Is This Guy?

Great question! My name's Kurt. I am a 3x Ironman, an ultrarunner, personal trainer (NASM), running coach (RRCA), and triathlon coach. I started this blog at the beginning of my triathlon journey in 2010 as a way to document my experiences to becoming an Ironman. That goal changed my life and every step continues to reveal new surprises. I keep pushing the boundaries to see where I can go. Occasionally I stop in to document it.